Foxes, Joes and Cobras
by Crimson Lion
Summary: Naruto is saved by Snake eyes and find out his is the nephew of the GI Joe's second in command Conrad Hauser aka Duke. He is trained by the Joes and Itachi Uchiha I dont own Naruto or GI Joe.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One: Families and Joes

It was a night of celebration, tonight was the celebration of the defeat of the Kyuubi. For one child though, it was a night of terror and pain rather than one of happiness. Running through the streets, a 6 year old with blond hair and blue eyes ran with all his might. Why you may ask, perhaps it was due to the fact that a huge mob of villagers were chasing him, intending to hurt him for a reason that was unknown to him. The boy's name was Naruto Uzumaki.

"Come back here you demon!" a villager shouted while he threw a bottle, which whizzed by young Naruto's head before breaking on the ground.

"What ever I did, I'm sorry! Please, just leave me alone!" he wailed as he ran. His pleas went unheard by the mob, seeing as they were out for his blood.

Unbeknownst to the mob and Naruto, a man dressed in a full grey ninja suit, which covered from head to toe along with a pair of swords on his back forming an X was watching. His face was completely covered and over his eyes was a vented visor; the man went by the name of Snake Eyes. He looked up to see two figures running along the rooftops toward the blond boy; they were none other than Itachi Uchiha and Anko Mitarashi. Curiosity spiked, Snake Eyes decided to follow them.

Meanwhile, Naruto ran down the street and turned down an alleyway, which turned out to be a dead end. He turned towards the mob and cowered in fear. "Please, I beg of you, don't hurt me I'm sorry!" he cried.

"Yeah right demon, like we are going to believe you!" one of the villagers laughed, "NOW DIE!" he screamed as he went to stab the young container but stopped mid stab.

"What is wrong Ryu, why don't you finish the little bastard?" another villager asked. He got his answer when he saw the man fall backwards. There between his eyes was a kunai, with only the handle visible. Upon seeing the kunai, the mob looked to the top of the fence that Naruto was cowering against to meet a pair of swirling sharingan eyes that belonged to Itachi Uchiha and an extremely angry Anko.

"Pathetic, I thought I had seen everything, but this takes the cake." said Itachi in a monotone voice; while he looked calm on the outside, inside he was a raging typhoon. _'How could they do this to Minato's son, I mean sure he contains Kyuubi but he is too nice to be the demon; they deserve to die'. _With that thought over, he looked at Anko and gave her a look that asked '_You thinking what I'm thinking_'; receiving a nod, they jumped down in front of Naruto who looked up.

"Anko-neechan!" Anko looked over her shoulder and smiled.

"Don't worry Naruto-kun, I'll keep you safe." Anko had become rather fond of the boy since they were alike in so many ways. The villagers hated both of them for things that they had no control over and they both grew up without knowing their family. Itachi knew the boy from observing him and came to the conclusion that even though he was the number one prankster of Konoha he was no Kyuubi.

Snake Eyes watched on with fascination at the growing scene here was a child that did not look like a demon and simply hated for something he could not control. This made Snake Eyes's rage grow; he knew he had to get this kid out of the village. _'He would make one hell of a Joe with that stamina and quick thinking of his.'_ When he saw Anko and Itachi, a smile came to his lips. _'So this kid is not alone, there __**are**__ people who do care about him…but it seems as if there are very few of them…very few indeed.'_

"You people are in violation of the Third's law, and as such, you are all sentenced to death" Itachi stated. The crowd immediately gasped.

"But this…brat is the Kyuubi!" The oh so intelligent villager was decapitated by Itachi for his words.

"Naruto is not the Kyuubi!" Anko yelled. Thankfully Naruto was unconscioius due to exhaustion so he did not hear her. However, the mysterious stalker heard, and was shocked.

_'Naruto…wasn't that the name of Duke's dead nephew? I must get that kid out of here to find out for sure. If this really is Duke's nephew…then there'll be hell to pay.' _With that in mind, Snake Eyes slowly but quickly bounded across the rooftops to the scene. When he got there, he waited for the perfect time to strike. When Itachi and Anko started their punishment, he decided to make his move.

"Now to execute you damn villagers" Anko hissed out with venom. She used one of her favorite jutsus to shoot snake out of the sleeves of her trench coat to poison several of the villagers. Meanwhile, Itachi showed the villagers how painful Katon jutsus really were. The two Anbu members turned to Naruto to take him to the hospital, but saw another man crouching next to Naruto. Snake Eyes looked over his shoulder at the two shinobi and threw a smoke bomb before grabbing Naruto and headed towards the gates. (Hokage Tower)

Sarutobi was watching the night's events through his crystal ball and was saddened by his villagers' stupidity.

"So…it seems that soon Duke and Scarlet will know the truth…Kami-sama, they're going to wring my neck." Sarutobi paled as he envisioned a pissed off red-head archer and a blonde First Class Sergeant screaming at him. He prayed that the two would understand; after all, he had to protect Naruto from the council. Danzo, would have liked nothing better than turn Naruto into a living weapon. Luckily, Sarutobi was able to put an end to his plans. He sent a small messenger bird toward Itachi and Anko, in order to tell them to call off the pursuit

(Back to the Pursuit)

Itachi chased Snake Eyes across the rooftop with Anko right behind him when they saw the messenger bird pass over them. 'W_hat could Sandaime-sama want now? We have to save Naruto-kun.'_ Despite their beliefs, they both complied with the Hokage's wish. _'I hope he knows what he is doing…'_ The duo then headed back to the Hokage Tower.

Seeing his pursuers leave, Snake Eyes leapt over the wall and headed towards the temporary base camp outside the village. When he got there, he met up with a man in a red suit and helmet with sunglasses who smiled at him. His name was Edwin Steen, but everyone knew him as Lifeline.

"Ahh, Snake Eyes you're back with a guest I see." When Lifeline saw the unconscious boy covered in cuts and bruises, he gasped. "Oh my God, what happened? Get him to the medical tent stat!" he ordered rushing to the nearest tent. While he was running, he thought, 'T_his kid looks like Duke's brother, Minato...'_ When he went back to the other tent where Snake Eyes was waiting with Naruto, he noticed that the cuts where healed like they were never there. "This is strange, don't you think Snake Eyes?" Receiving a nod, he pulled out a syringe. "Why not do a blood test and find out who this kid is?" Receiving another nod, he drew some blood and went into the other room with the silent ninja following. If only they knew what was happening in the young blondes mind.

(Naruto's Mindscape)

Naruto woke up in his mind and noticed that it looked like a sewer. _'God, my mind is a sewer. I hope that doesn't mean I'm going to be a pervert.' _He saw a red glow coming from the last opening on the left and decided to follow it and see what was causing the glow. He came to a room where a big cage had a piece of paper with the Kanji for seal on it.

**"AHH, it seems my container has come to visit. It is nice to finally meet you Naruto" **a loud voice bellowed from the cage. A giant fox stepped up to the bars and stared at him.

"W…who are you?" the young container stuttered out, "and where are we?" he asked with fear lacing every word. The fox had no problem smelling the young boy's fear.

**"Well child, I am Kyuubi no Kitsune…and we are in your mind." S**eeing his container shake with fear, he answered, **"No need to fear me Kit, I am not evil like your books make me out to be."**

"But why did you attack the village 6 years ago?" he asked, his curiosity now spiked.

**"Because a certain clan head killed my mate." **Venom laced Kyuubi's words, scaring the young child in front of him. When he noticed his container's fear, he calmed himself. **"However, I quickly learned that not the whole clan was bad; the heir, I believe her name was Tsume, saved my kits. I owe her a debt that I have to repay." **Naruto raised his head upon hearing the name "Tsume".

"Isn't that the head of the Inuzuka clan? I remember her, she saved me once!"

**"Yes, that is her Kit. We can talk later, but for now you must rest. I will explain more the next time we meet."** This time, Kyuubi's voice was laced with warmth and kindness, making Naruto comfortable and sleepy. Seeing this, Kyuubi sent out some charka and wrapped the boy in it like a blanket. His chakra helped Naruto fall asleep. _**'H**__**mm, this boy has led a harsh life…I sense that these strangers have his best interest at heart surprisingly enough.'**_ Kyuubi was able to see Lifeline tending to Naruto's injuries and Snake eyes protecting Naruto.

(Reality)

Lifeline covered the cuts that did not heal while Snake Eyes checked the perimeter of the campsite when the beeping of the machine behind him brought him out of his thoughts of how the young child had recovered so quickly. Going to it, he took the piece of paper and read it. His eyes immediately widened.

"Snake Eyes, get in here now!" Said ninja appeared, ready for combat. Lifeline just smiled and stated, "We found Him." Upon hearing this, the ninja stiffened in joy; they had just found his commander's supposedly dead nephew. "Hurry, we have to contact Duke!" That being said, he went over to the communication computer and turned it on.

(GI Joe Base USA)

"Duke, this is Lifeline, come in Duke!" A blonde haired First Class Sergeant, dressed in a kaki shirt and green pants walked up to it followed by a red head dressed in a black and tan suit.

"This is Duke, what is it Lifeline?"

"Duke, we found HIM." Hearing the emphasis on the "him", Duke went wide-eyed and looked at his red-headed fiancée.

"Lifeline, this better not be a joke cause if it is…" he was cut off by the said medic.

"This is not a joke sir, I ran a blood test of a child that Snake Eyes found in Konoha…he's a match. Snake Eyes says his name is Naruto."

Duke gasped as his emotions switched from shock to anger. _'He was alive all these years…he's still alive… why would Sarutobi tell Scarlet and me that he died when he was born? I know Sarutobi better than that, he would have told us…it must have been because of the council…I'm going to kill them all when I get there…'_ Scarlet was able to read her fiancée's emotions and saw him clench his fists, and instantly put her hand on his shoulder.

"I know what you're feeling dear, but we have to approach this rationally" she warned him. He turned to meet her emerald green eyes and his anger went away instantly.

"How do you do that honey?"

"Do what?" she asked, using her most innocent voice.

"Calm me down so quickly when I'm so riled up" he answered the lovely redhead.

"Cause we've been together for four years, of course I know how to calm you down…and turn you on" she smiled seductively before leaning in to kiss him passionately which he willingly returned, until a voice pulled them out of their make-out session.

"Geez you two, I hear that my nephew is alive, and when I come over here to investigate, I find you two making out like horny teenagers!" Duke's half brother, Falcon, who was standing in the doorway next to his girlfriend, Jinxs. The two immediately jumped away from one another, both blushing a new shade of red. Regaining his composure, Duke looked at him with all seriousness. Falcon knew that Duke was serious.

"Falcon, you and Jinxs grab Spirit. We're going to Konoha to get our nephew," he said standing straight up. They started to head out when Scarlet spoke out.

"No."

Falcon, Jinx, and Duke looked at Scarlet in surprise. "We're going to pick up our **son**. Duke, I knew your brother just as well as you did, and I know he would want us to give him the family he needs" she smiled at her fiancée whose look of shock turned into a smile.

"But first, we need to get him and tell him of his heritage. Then we can tell him that we want to adopt him" he replied pulling her into a hug.

"Well, if we keep stopping to hug and kiss, we won't get there until next month" Falcon said sarcastically, breaking the two out of the hug and earning a glare from the said two.

"Let's go get my son" Duke said, earning a nod from the rest. When they walked out, they bumped into a man with a war helmet and goggles on.

"General Hawk sir, sorry" they stammered, but the man waved them off.

"Go get your son Duke, he deserves a family." The group stared wide eyed at the general. "Don't think I didn't hear a single word in this base" he chuckled. "Now get going you guys, Spirit is waiting for you in the hanger." That being said, the group left and a few moments later the sounds of a jet taking off was heard.

A few hours later, the group of Joes was at Konoha's front gate where a very angry and worried Duke stood waiting for the idiotic guards to show up. After a few minutes, the guards appeared.

"State your name and business here." Duke wanted to kick the crap out of the guard that spoke for his less than enthusiastic behavior, but some calming words from his fiancée calmed Duke down.

"We are here to see your Hokage about my nephew, who will hopefully be my son" he stated with a calm but serious voice that spoke volumes. The two shinobi instantly recognized his voice.

"D…Duke-san, is that you?" Receiving a nod, the two shinobi instantly paled. "Please proceed."

(Hokage Tower)

Sarutobi sat at his desk, rubbing his temples. He had just gotten through with explaining his reason for calling Itachi and Anko back. While he was thinking of the best way to break the news to Duke, he heard a commotion from the other side of his door.

"What do you mean I can't see the old coot! He has some things to answer for!" Upon hearing the voice, the Hokage started to pale; he would recognize that voice from anywhere. Suddenly, the door slammed opened to reveal a seething Duke and an equally angry Scarlet. "Old man, you have some explaining to do…and it better be good."

"Duke, listen to me. I' sorry I didn't tell you, but the council went behind my back. There was nothing I could do." Sarutobi held up his hands, praying that Duke would understand.

"Well old man, you call the council to a meeting and I'll have a little chat with them. First, I'm going to get my nephew and see if he wants to be my son." Upon hearing the news, the Hokage smiled.

"I glad to hear that, young Naruto needs a family very badly" he stated. _'Those bastards on the council sealed their fate' _he thought with a grin as he watched Duke pull out a wakie talkie.

"Lifeline, this is Duke, come in do you hear me?" his respond was a groan from the other end. "Lifeline, is something wrong? Are you and Snake Eyes ok? What about Naruto?"

"Naruto's fine…and as for Snake Eyes and me…well, we're somewhat okay" Lifeline responded, still groaning.

"Why are you groaning? Were you attacked?"

"Well, your darling little nephew woke up and made a run for it. When I tried to stop him, he nailed me in the family jewels sir. Then he got Snake Eyes by surprise." Hearing Lifeline's report caused everyone in the Hokage's office to laugh.

"Well, I'll have Spirit track him down while you guys recover from the attack" Duke managed to reply in between laughs.

"May I offer some assistance?" receiving a nod he press the intercom "Send for Anko please." A moment later, a short-haired, brown trench coat wearing lady walked into the office.

"You called Hokage-sama?" she asked politely before noticing the others in the room. _'Who are they, and why are they here?'_ she thought until the Hokage broke her from her thoughts.

"Well Anko, it seems that the one who took Naruto is part of an elite anti-terrorist unit called GI Joe, and this man," he said, motioning to Duke, "is not only the second-in-command of the group, but also Naruto's uncle…and hopefully new father." Sandaime's statement caught the kunochi by surprise, and in her surprise froze for a second before her rage took over her control and lunged at the man and pinned him against the wall.

"Where the hell were you for the first six years of his life huh?" she screamed, "He was beaten and chased more times than I can remember, and lets not forget the assassination attempts that Itachi and I stopped! Last time I checked, there were over five hundred assassination attempts!" Duke just hung his head in shame as he heard what his nephew had to go through.

"I know, I should have been there for him, but I didn't know he was alive." Upon hearing the man speak, the young girl released her grip. "We were told by the council that he died in childbirth, along with my sister in law."

"Those damn fools…always interfering with people's lives. I know Danzo had something to do with this!" she growled before she clenched her fists, thinking of ways to torture the said man who had caused nothing but hell for Naruto and her.

"Anko, before you came in we received reports that Naruto escaped from the medic and the ninja who took care of him last night by using…less than extreme means." Anko just grinned.

"Let me guess, he got away by kicking them in the groin." Everyone in the office just stared at her with wide eyes.

"You taught him to do that?" Upon receiving a nod, the Hokage asked the question that they were all wondering. "Why?"

"Hell, he is a small kid…even if he was treated normally, he would still have older kids picking on him for being short, but back to the point, seeing as how adults are usually the ones targeting him, he has to use his size and speed to his advantage to get out of situations until help arrives. Which is usually Itachi and me." The aged Hokage just shuddered as he thought of what other…non-lethal moves Anko may have taught Naruto.

"Well, do you know where he might be?" he asked knowing that Kurenai, Anko's best friend, Itachi, and Anko were the three who spent the most time with Naruto.

"Yup, there's a nearby cave that I told him to go hid in if he was ever chased out of the village. He'll wait there until Itachi or I go there to bring him home." The old man smile and Duke smiled; it was nice to see that someone cared so much for Naruto.

"I can't thank you enough for everything you've done for Naruto. I'm glad he's had someone watching over him in this damn village. Now, lets go get my nephew." That being said, they all left the tower heading for the gate in which Snake Eyes had left with Naruto the previous night.

(Cave outside of Konoha)

Naruto staggered into the cave, exhausted from his full speed run through the forest. As he wandered deeper into the cave, he collapsed from exhaustion. Unable to fight it anymore, he let the darkness and relief of sleep take over his mind.

(Mindscape)

Naruto woke up once again in the sewers of his mind. _'Time to get some answers.'_ Putting on a face of determination, he walked to the last door on the right and stood in front of the Kyuubi's cage. The sight that greeted him wasn't anything that he expected. Instead of a gigantic red fox, there was a six year old girl with fire-red hair, dressed in a black kimono with red sakura petals dancing pattern on it.

"K…Kyuubi, is that you?" receiving a nod, Naruto yelled, "YOU'RE A GIRL!" The fox girl winced due to his loud shouts.

**"Not so loud Naruto-kun…it hurts my ears"** the boy blushed and began to apologize before she waved him off. **"You're probably here to ask me about my attack on your village six years ago, right?" **receiving a nod, she took a deep breath before continuing. **"Well, six years ago I lived in a small cave near your village with my kits and mate. My mate was a kind creature, but when it came to protecting our precious people, there wasn't anyone or anything in this land that was fiercer. One day, I was hunting for dinner while my mate stayed home since he was tired and just slept with our kits"** she smiled as a tear slid down her cheek. It made her so emotional to just remember those happy times. **"When I returned, I found my mate dead and my kits were missing. At the time, I assumed that they where killed. I went into a rage and attacked your village. Your ninja put up a valiant effort but their attempts to subdue me were all in vain…until the Yondaime Hokage showed up. I believe that the Yondaime knew that I was not attacking out of bloodlust, but of sorrow. Instead of killing me, which I'm sure he could have done, he decided to spare my life by sealing me inside of you."** Kyuubi looked and at him and saw that he was crying along with her. **"I am so sorry Naruto-kun, it is because of me that hte blasted village of yours hates you. I understand if you hate me as well."** The answer she received was not the one that she expected.

"I don't hate you." Hearing the child's statement made the fox girl gasp. "It was not your fault. The one to blame is that women who attacked and killed your family." Before he could continue his statement, Kyuubi corrected his statement.

**"That is where you are wrong Naruto. I said that the clan head at that time killed my mate but not my children. Right before your Yondaime sealed me inside of you, I saw another woman younger than the clan head holding my children protectively. I could tell she would take good care of them." **Upon hearing that Kyuubi's children were safe, the two of them smiled.

"Well, when Anko-neechan comes to get me, I'll have to visit her and see your kits."

**"Well you may get your chance soon since I sense them coming so how about you wake up now ok" **the boy nodded and with a blast of chakra she sent him out of his mind _'__**I hope they are who I think they are since he needs to know about his family since it was my fault his father died sealing me within him'**_ she thought watching a small screen that show what was happening outside

(Real World)

Naruto woke to meet the brown eyes of the woman that he thought of as a sister.

"Neechan!!!" he shouted, making Anko cover her ears and reel back from the volume. After a few minutes of rubbing her ears, the snake mistress smiled at the young boy who was currently apologizing.

"Calm down Naruto, I know you were excited to see me" she replied ruffling the boy's hair which prompted him to tackle her. It was then that he noticed the other people behind with his sister.

"Neechan, who are these people?" he asked pointing to the group of Joes behind her. With a heavy sigh, she stood up and helped the young blonde to his feet. Motioning to the group, she began to speak.

"Naruto these people are with a special group called GI Joe. They protect the world from dangerous enemies." Before continuing, she looked at Duke who nodded his head. "This man here in the tan pants and green shirt is…" Anko took a deep breath before continuing, "Your uncle, Conrad, also known as Duke in the Joes team." After she finished speaking, she heard a gasp. She looked at Naruto, who had tears glistening in his eyes.

"I… I have family…where were they these past six years?!" he choked out. His voice was so full of misery and despair that the snake mistress embraced him in a tight hug and let him cry it out. At this moment Scarlet quickly walked over and joined in on the hug.

"There, there Naruto. We didn't know you were alive…we were told that you had died along with your mother in child birth" she let a tear slid down her cheek before continuing, "If we had known that you were alive, we would have come to get you immediately." While all this was going on, Duke was shaking with rage and mentally thinking about the meeting with the council. He decided that no matter what they were going to say, he was taking his nephew away from this hellhole of a village and making sure that they paid dearly. Falcon was able to read his brother's emotions and placed a firm hand on his brother's shoulder to calm him down.

"Duke, I know we barely get along, but I promise you that they will pay…we're in this together." Duke smiled and nodded before he turned his attention back to the two women holding his nephew. He decided that now was the best time to pitch the adoption idea since Naruto had calmed down. With a sigh he composed himself and walked up to the trio.

"Naruto, I'm not the best with words, so I'll get straight to the point. Scarlet and I would like to adopt you…would you like to become our son?" Naruto went wide-eyed and stared at the man.

"Y…You mean it?" receiving a nod he proceeded to tackle Duke "I have a family I have family!" he proceeded to yell before he started crying in his new father's shirt. Jinxs, Anko and Scarlet proceeded to aww in unison at the sight while Falcon just chuckled.

"Lets go son, we have a council to punish and some training to plan." Naruto stared at his new father in confusion.

"Training? What for?" he asked tilting his head to the side.

"Why to become a Joe like your mother and me, and protect the world" he said proudly.

"But I want to be a shinobi of the leaf!" the jinchuriki wined which earned a chuckle from the group.

"Well, I'll talk with the Hokage to get someone to train you in the art of the shinobi." Upon hearing that he would still be able to become a shinobi and stay with his family, the boy smiled even wider than before. "But first, we're going to have a little chat with the so called high council." Anko smirked when she heard the venom in the man's voice.

_'I think I'm going to like this guy.'_ On the way back to the village, Naruto was holding onto both of his parents' hands, practically dragging them back to the village. Anko sighed as she realized that over the years she had become very fond of the blonde knucklehead whom she saw as a younger brother. _'Oh wel,l it was fun while he was here.'_

Her disappointment did not go unnoticed by either Scarlet or Duke, who were thinking the same thoughts, _'Maybe she can be the one to help Naruto learn what it is to be a shinobi and their skills.'_ They looked at each other and nodded, silently agreeing that they would ask the Sandaime to allow Anko to accompany them.

(Council Room)

The council members looked at the third with a little bit hatred…after all, it was two o'clock in the morning. They had all been sleeping soundly when they were summoned for an emergency meeting.

"Hokage-sama, why is it that you have called this emergency meeting at this time? What could be so important that it can not wait for another few hours?" The speaker was a man with pale, pupiless eyes, and held an air of superiority. He was Hiashi Hyuuga.

"This meeting concerns the treatment and family of one Naruto Uzumaki." As he suspected, the Sandaime's statement caused an uproar, especially from the Hyuuga and a man named Danzo. The uproar was silenced by a wave of killing intent coming from the aging Hokage and three other members of the council. One of the three had blonde hair tied in a high ponytail with blue eyes, while the one next to him had a look of pure rage instead of his normally laid back look, and the third was a big man with red hair. The three were the famous Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and the main supporter of the young blonde jinchuuriki since their children all were friends with him. Whenever they could, three of them would play together while one would lay on the ground and watch the clouds float by.

"Well, Minato's brother came to get his nephew…well son, since I **will** legalize the adoptation papers." The Sandaime's remark was immediately objected to by Danzo.

"Hokage-sama, you should not let them take him! They might turn him into a living weapon!" The Hokage and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio all sweatdropped."Weren't you thinking of doing the same thing Danzo? That was the first idea that came out of your mouth when the sealing was complete." Danzo tried to stutter out a reply, but the Sandaime continued. "That's what I thought. I know his family, and while they may turn him into a living weapon, he won't be a mindless one like some of your ROOT Anbu." He was about to continue when the doors of the swung open, revealing Duke and Scarlet each holding one of Naruto's hands. The Hokage and trio just smiled at the sight. It had been so long since Naruto had last smiled like that.

"Inoichi-san, Shikaku-san, Chouza-san, look I have a mother and a father now! I got adopted!" The euphoric blonde managed to let go of his parents' hands in order to hop up and down in front of the trio. The three shinobi smiled; they had personally watched over the blonde from time to time and had seen him grow up.

"Yes, we can see that Naruto-kun. We're all very happy for you. Now why don't you go outside and play with our children, we adults have some things to discuss" Inoichi stated. The young blonde nodded and went outside, but not before kissing his new mother and father first. After he left, the smiles that adorn the faces of the trio and elderly man disappeared as serious looks took their spots. Duke decided to break the silence with a venomous tone lacing his words.

"So this is the almighty council that decided not to tell me my nephew was ALIVE !!!" he shouted. His rage was so evident that event he civilians on the council winced. "Now, whose bright idea was it not to inform me that my nephew was alive? Who decided to tell me that he died along with his mother and my brother?" At this point, one foolish and very arrogant Danzo and a smug Hiashi stood up.

"That would be us. We did'nt want you to turn Minato's son into a weapon to use against us?" he replied.

"Ahh, you must be that prick, Danzo, that my brother told me about. And you, the one with pupiless eyes must be Hiashi…you have an air of smugness that I hate." After hearing Duke's analysis of them, the two council members shook with rage. "Well, I heard **you** were the ones who wanted to turn my nephew into a weapon and a mindless one at that. Now that I'm here, I'm going to make him into a weapon…but he'll have a mind. He won't just be some killing machine" he smirked before continuing, "But then again, it's up to him to do what he wants. If he wants to be a civilian fine. If he wants to be a Joe…then even better, I'll train him so well that he'll be ten times better than he would be if he were under your tutelage."

This statement made the Hokage smile with pride. He knew that by giving Naruto to Duke and Scarlet, he was finally giving Naruto what he had always wanted-a loving family. The trio was happy that Duke and Scarlet had decided to adopt Naruto because they could tell that they would treat him right and train him well. When the subject of training came up, they remembered that the blonde wanted to be a shinobi and one day the Hokage. How would he become the Hokage if he was living with the GI Joes? The looks of concern did not go unnoticed by Scarlet who noticed everything, especially when it concerned her new son.

"Do not worry Sarutobi, Naruto has told us of his dreams of becoming Hokage." She smiled as she remembered her son's antics. _'He kept telling us all the reasons why he wanted to become Hokage during the walk back to Konoha.'_ Scarlet had to repress a chuckle as she reminisced. "We were thinking about hiring two of your shinobi to have them come with us and train him in all the aspects of a shinobi."

"Hmm…that's a rather good idea. Do you have anyone in mind, or should I appoint them?" The elderly man started rubbing his beard as he mentally created a list of shinobi who did not hate Naruto and would be willing to train him. Sadly, the list was rather short.

"Yes, we would like to have Anko Matarashi." Upon hearing her name as one of the shinobi to train Naruto, the snake kunouchi stared at the couple who turned and smiled at the young girl.

"Me, what's so great about me?" Anko couldn't help but wonder why they had chosen her to train their son. After all, the village and the council hated her guts. Meanwhile, the council members were wondering the same thing.

"Surely you are joking. Miss. Scarlet, I know you are new here, so I must prevent you from making a grave mistake. That…woman is the former student of the nukenin, Orochimaru!" The civilian council member who had found the courage to voice his thoughts was immediately silenced by Duke.

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!" he yelled, silencing the whole chamber. "The reason we choose her was because she watched out for my son and treated him like a normal person. From what I can tell, she even went as far to see him like hr little brother, while you assholes sat here making his life miserable. Sarutobi, for Naruto's second teacher, I would like to take someone who respects Naruto." The elder man nodded and smiled before he pressed his intercom.

"Hitaro, you can send him in now." That being said, the doors swung open revealing the obsidian-black eyes of one Itachi Uchiha. The council was once again thrown into an uproar.

"Hokage-sama, you can't be serious! Itachi is a prodigy, he can not train the demon! He…" the council member was silenced by a backhand from said Uchiha who had appeared beside him and activated his three tomoe sharingan.

"Who do you think you are!? Just because you are a prodigy doesn't mean that the law doesn't apply to you! Not only have you assaulted me, a fellow Konoha citizen, you have activated your sharingan. That's considered an act of aggression; I could have you killed for that!"

"Honorable Council Member, you have broken the Sandaime's law; therefore, I have every right to commit an 'act of aggression' as you put it. You should be executed…but I shall let you live this one time. Know this though: if you ever break the law again, or even think about harming Naruto, I shall carry out the consequences. As for Naruto, I see no demon. I only see Naruto Hauser, Duke's son. It would be an honor to train him with Anko-ch…" Itachi had to bite his tongue to end his sentence. He mentally berated himself; his father was in the room, and if he ever learned of his crush on Anko, his father would do whatever it took to keep them apart. Unbeknownst to him, the Hokage knew of the young Uchiha's crush on the snake mistress. He also knew of the tragedies of his love; thanks to his asshole of a father, who didn't want the Uchiha blood and name sullied with 'trash' as he so eloquently put it, there love had a very little chance of flourishing. Itachi's mother on the other hand, didn't care who her son fell in love with as long as he was happy. The same could be said of his little brother, who loved to tease his older brother in private about his crush. After all, it wasn't often that one could make the famous Itachi blush like a tomato.

"Understood, you and Anko will train Naruto, but first I would like you to stay here for a bit to take care of some…business with the esteemed council." Sarutobi couldn't help but smirk as he turned towards the council smiling. The Joes, who had never been exposed to it before, were the only ones who were unaware that he was unleashing a massive amount of killing intent upon a majority of the council. Those having it directed at them, meaning the council members who tried to harm Naruto or hated him, began to wet themselves. _'Finally…Minato, I will finally be able to help your son like I should have done so long ago. Please forgive me for taking all these years to help Naruto.'_ The three that sided with the Hokage were thinking the same thing, _'Squirm you bastards…suffer…if only you could suffer as much as Naruto has.'_

(Outside with Naruto)

Naruto had just left the council room he came upon three kids; two boys and one girl. The girl was currently yelling at the boy who had a pineapple hair cut about being lazy, while the other boy, who was heavyset, just sighed before he started eating a bag of chips. The children were none other than Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji-his best friends.

"Hey Ino-chan!" he yelled, causing the girl to turn to him with a smile and run up to him. Meanwhile, Shikamaru gave a sigh of relief; Naruto was always good at gathering someone's attention. On many occasions Naruto had saved him from what had promised to be a scolding from Ino. Before he could think of what else was good about Naruto (the list was rather long), he was fast asleep.

"Hello Naruto." When she was close to him, she bopped him on the head and said, "What did I say about yelling!" Naruto rubbed the back of his head with sheepish grin.

"Gomen Ino-chan." The platinum-blonde girl just shook her head and smiled at the boy.

"At least you're more fun than Shikamaru, all he wants to do is sleep" motioning to the said boy, who was sleeping, when a thought came to her. "Naruto, who were those people you were with?" Upon hearing her question, the blonde boy's face lit up with excitement.

"They're my new parents! They just adopted me. You want to know something cool?" Before Ino could ask, Naruto continued his answer. "They're from an anti-terrorist group called GI Joe…or something like that." Ino looked at him before frowning. Naruto noticed her frown immediately. Was she mad that he got parents? Did he say something wrong? Realizing that he didn't know what was wrong, he decided to figure out the easy way-by asking her directly. "What's wrong Ino-chan?"

"They aren't from our village are they? That means that you're going to leave…you probably aren't coming back" she said sadly while she hugged herself. Since she had met the young blonde, she had grown attached to him. He always made her smile.

"Don't worry Ino-chan, I'll come back. I have to; after all, I **am** going to become the best Hokage this village has ever seen!" His reply made her smile.

"Promise?" she asked, her voice slightly trembling.

"I promise" he replied. As soon as he finished, the doors behind him opened to reveal a smiling Anko along with Duke, Scarlet, Sarutobi, and the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. The only person who exited the room that was not smiling was Itachi. Naruto had never seen him smile before. _'I'm going to make him drop that damn mask and have him laugh, even if it kills me'_ Naruto silently pledged as he looked at him. "So, what happened in there?"

"Well, after some persuasion done by the Hokage, the esteemed council allowed two people whom you know very well to train you in the art of a shinobi as long as we come back in six years in order for you to take the test and become a Genin" Duke said grinning along with Scarlet.

"See Ino-chan, I am going to be back! I'll be gone for six years, and I'm gonna be stronger than ever!" Unknown to Naruto and the group, Ino had grown a crush on the fellow blonde. Inoichi was the only one in the group who knew of her attraction. It wasn't because he was a great shinobi and was capable of reading his daughter like a book. No, he was just as clueless as all men when it came to women, so he decided to read a different book-her diary. Like any father, he read her diary to find his fears laid to rest when he learned that she wasn't an Uchiha fangirl. She just acted that way for some reason.

"Ok but you have to write to me understand?" pointing a finger and scowling at him.

Raising his hands in his, defense and grinning, Naruto replied, "Understood". HE then dropped his hands and looked over to his new parents. "So who's going to teach me about being a shinobi?"

Duke and Scarlet side stepped to reveal Itachi and Anko and replied in unison, "They are." Anko was grinning while Itachi was smirking. Seeing them made Naruto's eyes light up. He immediately started jumping up and down like a madman.

"Anko-neechan and Itachi-niisan are going to train me! I'm gonna be Hokage sooner than I thought!" the blonde grinned before continuing, "You hear that old man? When I return, I'm gonna take your job!"

Sarutobi chuckled and shook his head at the boys enthusiasm "I don't think the council would allow a twelve year old to become Hokage Naruto." His response made Naruto frown and everyone else chuckle.

"Well this is good and all, but I think it's time we start to head back to our base. We need to make a brief stop in Suna." The Hokage turned to face him.

"For what Duke?" he asked. The Sandaime couldn't understand why he wanted to go to Suna. There was nothing there but sand and wind and even more sand.

"We have reports from a friend of mine code- named Dusty that there is a boy like Naruto there." The Hokage's eyes widened. "I see you know of the boy, or at least of what the implications of the facts mean. Anyways, it seems that the father of the boy has been sending assassins after him for quite some time." Seeing a nod from the elder man, he continued. "Well, Dusty and his wife, who he has been in contact with, have decided to adopt the boy as their own, as long as the Kazekage will allow his son to be adopted."

"I see. Well anybody like Naruto needs all the love he can get. Those assassination attempts from his own father can't be good for his mind" Sarutobi replied before continuing, "Well then, I bid you farewell and a safe journey my friend." With that, the Hokage and Duke shook hands while Ino and Naruto hugged. Ino cried; she was going to miss her friend and crush. She smiled though, because she knew he would be back. After all, he had promised and he always kept his promises. After the farewells were over, the group left for Suna.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Well I have a challenge for all of you reader out there. I'm challenging you to make a Punisher Naruto crossover which takes place at the VOTE. Sasuke tells Naruto how Sakura knew of his 'condition' and continued to treat him like trash and Kakashi purposely held him back. The first chair of the shinobi seven swordsmen, Frank Castle takes Naruto with him after finding him injured at the VOTE. Frank trains him along with the rest of seven swordsmen, including Kisame and Zabuza. Tsunade manages to find Naruto and gives him letters from some of the rookie nine. You can choose who sends the letters, but Hinata has to be one of them, and the letters have to show that people care for him. There has to be a comical scene where they argue over what his sword should be (size, type, special abilities, etc.), which is started by Kisame and Zabuza. I will write one myself, but it will take a while for it to be published so if you would like to write this yourself please drop me a line and tell me.

I'm going to write Mutation, which will take place at the VOTE. It will be a Hinata Naruto Sakura story. I am placing these and the other stories on temporary hiatus since I just started my senior year in college, and as such, I have a butt load of work to do. Also my beta Taintedlegacy has produce a great story which I would advise you to read since he help me with my stories.


	2. Chapter 2 Suna and Sealing Betad

Chapter 2 Suna and Sealing

As the group left Konoha, Duke, Scarlet and the rest of the Joes couldn't help but chuckle at the antics of the hyperactive blonde who was bouncing around his two new senseis like a kangaroo on crack while Anko tried to calm him down. Emphasis on tried because all Naruto wanted to do was learn a few new jutsus.

"But otouto,w e have to work on your chakra control and endurance first." After finishing her mini-lecture, Duke tapped her on the shoulder.

"Don't worry about his strength and endurance training, we have someone for that job, and I promise that you'll like him."

(GI JOE BASE)

Sgt. Slaughter sneezed, causing him to spill his coffee all over his pants. General Hawk simply chuckled at his predicament

"You know they say that when you sneeze it means somebody is talking about you," he said in between his chuckles.

"Well if that's true then somebody owes me a new cup of coffee," Slaughter grumbled in reply, causing the general's chuckles to turn into laughter.

Back with the Group

This time, it was Duke's turn to sneeze, causing the others to shrug and think it was his allergies.

"So what is the first thing you are going to teach me neechan?" Naruto stated looking up at Anko who was busy dreaming about Itachi. "Neechan, are you there?" Naruto questioned while he was poking Anko.

"Uh…what oh Naruto, sorry I spaced out there for a moment." Her reply had the blonde child smirking.

"OH, was it about Itac…mphhh," Anko quickly covered his mouth but unbeknownst to her, Itachi had heard him and realized what he was about to say. Not for the first time, he blushed when he thought about Anko.

_'She likes me too! That's great, but I just have to tell her how I feel.' _The sharingan warrior had to keep his face hidden to hide the blush. He wasn't quite ready to let his crush know of his feelings. A small frown marred his face. '_But what should I do about father? Not only does he dislike her because of her former sensei, he won't want me to be in a relationship with anyone outside of the clan in fears of "tainting" our bloodline.' _Itachi looked over at Anko who was laughing at Naruto, who had accidentally run into a tree. Her smile and laughter warmed his heart and a smile replaced his frown. _'Fuck him and the clan; I will marry who I love...I don't give a shit about the consequences.'_ He smiled as he imagined living with Anko and Naruto. When he started imagining Naruto running around a house with purple-haired kids who had their sharingan activated, he had to shake his head to clear the images. He didn't want to start thinking that far ahead…at least, not yet.

"Well Naruto-niisan, the first and most basic chakra control exercise is to keep this leaf floating just above your forehead using your chakra," Anko stated as she held up a single leaf and handed it to him.

"This will be easy," the blond stated confidently. He placed the leaf just above his forehead and concentrated his chakra. When he removed his hand, the leaf fell to the ground. "Hold on, that wasn't right," he stated as he picked the leaf up. When he repeated the exercise, the leaf fell again. Anko started giggle. Soon, Itachi joined in which caused the group to stop until Duke spoke.

"Was it just me or did the unemotional Itachi just giggle?" The entire group just stared at Itachi until he glared back.

"What, just because I don't normally show emotions, doesn't mean that I can't laugh at your son's antics," he stated. "Hell, I'm human even though I have to wear a mask to cover my emotions, both literally and figuratively, when I work. I just decided to drop both masks for this mission. I don't really need my Anbu mask to cover my face, nor do I need another one to cover my emotions. You don't know how nice it is to be able to drop both masks." He smiled at the end of his statement, causing Anko to blush.

_"Damn, he not only looks hot but has a great smile to match. That's it, I'm going to get him,' _she thought while she licked her lips.

"Well, it's about time! It only took me six whole years of hanging around with you to make you laugh Itachi-niisan," Naruto stated.

"On the contrary, you always made me laugh with the pranks you played on the village Naruto. I just had to act emotionless for my job. When I was in my room or Anbu locker rooms, my squad and I would laugh our asses off." He smiled at the blonde who smiled back.

Soon the group had reached the border of Fire and Wind Country. Waiting for them was a man wearing brown desert camouflage and a hat. The hat was like no other hat Naruto had ever seen before. This hat had a little cape-like attachment that covered the back of his neck.

"Duke, it's good to see you. I take it this is your new son," he stated with a kind voice, the whole time looking at Naruto with a bright smile. The blonde just smiled back."Yes this is my son and these two will train him in the ways of the shinobi," Duke replied motioning to Anko and Itachi who in return bowed. Dusty nodded and his smile disappeared as he took a more serious face and looked Duke in the eyes.

"Sir, we should start moving my sources state that there will be another assassination attempt on the boy's life. His father, the Kazekage, doesn't care that I want to adopt his son. The child's name is Gaara." Duke nodded and turned to the rest of the Joes.

"Joes, lets move out we have a kid to save!" Waving his arm forward, a rumbling noise was heard, which immediately caused the group to go into a defensive formation. The Joes relaxed when they heard the music of only one person they all knew. They liked the person, but they hated his preference in music. It was so bad that Naruto had to cover his ears. A Havoc rolled up and the cockpit opened. A man who looked to be in his late twenty's stepped out.

"Howdy Duke, the General heard about the predicament that Dusty here was having and sent me with this havoc to get you guys there sooner," he stated as the country music played in the background (for those who like country I do too, it's only the others in the story that don't like it).

"Well, I have to thank him when we get back. However, we are **not** listening to your music during the ride," Scarlet stated as she climbed into the vehicle. "I don't want my new son to become another country-lover; one of you is enough," she smirked which got a chuckle from the Joes in the group. Everybody got into the vehicle in moments.

(Couple of hours later)

The vehicle stopped at the gate when two Suna shinobi approached them.

"Halt who goes there?" Dusty got out and approached them.

"Hi there, my name is Dusty. I'm here to see the Kazekage about a possible adoption of a child." At this point, the shinobi stiffened; they had heard that somebody wanted to adopt Gaara. During the confrontation, everybody else got out of the vehicle. Immediately after Naruto got out, his eyes glazed. No one noticed because they had to had their documents over to the guards.

**"Kit sorry to call you like this but I sense my best friend, Shukaku. Before being sealed inside a child, a crazy monk merged with him in order to create the 'ultimate weapon'," **she stated.

_"So there's a person like me, but crazier,"_ Naruto replied.

"Yes, but I know how to fix the seal and destroy the spirit of the crazy monk within the child," Kyuubi stated. She started to hone in on the child's location.

(Not far from the gate where they were)

Gaara was having a somewhat normal day. If you call getting called demon and having threats thrown at him in the day and assassination attempts at night normal. He was walking down near the gate where Naruto was when Shukaku made his presence known to Gaara. In actuality, it wasn't Shukaku speaking but the monk.

**"Child, the** **container of the Kyuubi is near! I want its blood, give me its blood now!" **Gaara grabbed his head in an attempt to stop the voice.

_"No, I don't want to! I won't follow your commands anymore," _Gaara shouted back.

**"You have no choice in the matter!" **

Sand began to swirl around Gaara as he slumped over unconscious. The sand started to take the form of a raccoon. The commotion caused people to scream and run in terror as it started to destroy homes near it.

(With the Joes)

Naruto and the others heard the commotion and rushed into Suna, leaving stunned guards in their wake. Naruto turned to the others with a serious look in his eyes. "I must get to Gaara, I am the only one who can fix his seal and destroy the crazy monk's spirit that Gaara's own father did in order to make him into a weapon," he stated. "I need you to help get the people to safety." They nodded and started to help with the evacuation. Naruto stood there and channeled some of Kyuubi's chakra to get the raccoon's attention. Needless to say, it worked like a charm.

The monster turned toward the source of power he felt to see a child standing tall in front of him. "Shukaku" couldn't help but laugh.

**"This is the mighty vessel of the Kyuubi?! Hahaha, what a joke! I'll crush you!" **he said as he raised his large foot. Naruto stood firm, but internally he was shaking until he felt Kyuubi's comforting voice in his head.

**"Kit, let me have control. I can only do this, but you will be in a deep sleep for at least a day after this."** Naruto nodded and closed his eyes. When they re-opened, red eyes with slit-pupils were visible. There was a burst of red chakra around Naruto which took the form a fox with three tails. **"SHUKAKU, how dare you attack the people you swore to protect!"**

**"HAHA Shukaku isn't here little fox. I am Yokoshima (evil), the monk that was given complete control over this boy," **he laughed as he went to stomp Naruto flat.Kyuubi/Naruto dashed out of the way and ran up the leg of the ferocious monster to where Gaara was slumped over. **"Shakaku, I thought you** **were tougher than this! You're letting a little pathetic human soul take you over!"** she shouted in the boy's ear, which seemed to get the desired result. The monster grabbed his head and screamed in pain.

**"No, I just came out! You have no power…NOOOOOOOOOO!" **The sand raccoon dispersed and went back to the ground. As the sand fell to the ground, a boy stood up with a gourd on his back. When he looked Naruto in the eyes, Naruto saw that Gaara's eyes had a gold cross with four blue orbs in each corner. Instead of hate or anger, the eyes were filled with kindness. **"Kyuubi, set up the barrier and get this bastard out of me! My container has a pure heart, but he is not in control. I can only keep the monk out for so long, and he's getting stronger! Hurry!"**

Before Shukaku finished his statement, Kyuubi started flashing through hand seals. No shinobi nearby recognized the sequence. **"Demonic Barrier Jutsu!" **as soon as Kyuubi/Naruto said this, a red barrier formed around the two boys shielding them from view.

On a corner Itachi and Anko watched the event unfold. Anko turned to face Itachi when she heard him growl, and was surprised to see his sharigan active.

"What is wrong Itachi?" she asked with worry clear in her voice and face.

"I can't copy that jutsu," he replied making the snake kunoichi facefault.

"WHAT!!!! You mean to say you weren't worried one bit about Naruto, who is now trapped in that barrier and probably in danger!" her rant ended when Itachi held up his hand.

"I just like adding to my jutsu library. Besides, I know Naruto; he's tough, but that's not him. Kyuubi's in control; I read his lips earlier. Kyuubi is going to fix the seal and get rid of the crazy monk." Anko's eyes widened as she turned back to the orb in the street that covered the two boys.

_'Please be careful otouto' _

(Inside the orb)

Naruto appeared and looked around the orb. Half of it was a lush forest while the other half was a barren desert.

**"What do you think Naruto-kun?" **a female voice called out. He turned to meet Kyuubi who was dressed in a simple crimson battle kimono, but she was still in the cage.

"Where are we Kyuubi?" he asked in confusion tilting his head.

**"We are in a mindscape merge. When I performed the jutsu, it threw us into a mindscape composed of half our minds," **she answered as she walked in between the bars. Naruto jumped back and pointed at her.

"How the hell did you escape?" he yelled at her, causing her to chuckle.

**"Oh Naruto, haven't you realized that it's only your willpower that keeps me in here? Don't try to release me, or we will both die," **she replied changing her voice to one of seriousness. They heard crying and looked across the mindscape to see a boy crying. Without a word, they both walked over to him.

"Gaara, don't cry," Naruto said with kindness while the young redhead looked up. He tried to move away but he couldn't because Kyuubi had wrapped him in a hug. **"We are here for you Gaara. I promise that I will make everything right. You should know that Shukaku isn't the one who has been causing you this pain and loneliness. It was an evil monk, who will soon be kicked out of your head." **Kyuubi kept hold of the child until he smiled and drifted off to sleep in his own mind. Soon Naruto and Kyuubi heard howling as the sand swirled around them. They turned to their left to see a sand raccoon flailing side to side holding his head. Kyuubi got up and proceeded to walk toward her friend who was in pain.

**"Naruto, I want you to stay with Gaara. Protect him while I deal with this monk and save my friend," **she stated as she walked towards the flailing tanuki. Naruto nodded and looked at the sleeping Gaara.

_'I promise to protect you with my life…brother,' _he mentallypromised. Since they both held demons and were treated in similar ways, Naruto figured that they were family.

Kyuubi started flashing through hand seals that Naruto had never seen before. He made a mental note to ask her about them after this was all over. When she had reached the tanuki, she had finished the signs and called **"Tainted soul extraction!"** She plunged her hand into the raccoon and starting to slowly pull out the tainted monk.**"Nooo, you can't do this to me! I control this demon! His power is mine, you can not be able to do this!" **he screamed trying to force himself back in to the bijuu's body. He failed miserably and his spirit hung in the grip of the fox demon herself. She started to do one-handed seals with her free hand, even as the monk still struggled to break free.

**"Soul purification jutsu!"** she shouted as she thrust two fingers into the monk's forehead.

**"NOOOOO!" **the spirit screamed as a white light engulfed him. A few moments later, the light disappeared, revealing Kyuubi with an empty hand.

**"Well, that is one spirit we shall never see again," **she said as she turned to the recovering tanuki. **"You ok there Shukaku?"** She smiled as the sand fell away to reveal a boy around Naruto and Gaara's age wearing a red robe with a large gourd on his back. He stared up at Kyuubi with a warm smile.

**"Yes Kyuu-chan, I'm fine. Now I have to fix this flawed seal they used," **the tanuki spirit stated as he got up and turned to face the seal. Flashing through numerous hand seals faster than Kyuubi had did during her fight with the monk, he channeled chakra into his hand before placing it on the seal shouting, **"Seal Reconstruction jutsu!"** The seal immediately started to glow and change form. When the light died down, Kyuubi saw that the seal looked just like Naruto's. **"Finally, my vessel will be able to sleep and have somewhat normal life,"** he turned and bowed to Kyuubi. **"Thank you my friend, I am afraid what would have happened if you did not intervene when you did."**

Kyuubi just waved him off. **"What are friends for? Besides, you saved my butt in the past. Lets just say we're even as long as you take care of your vessel."** Shukaku nodded as they looked at the two sleeping boys and smiled as the mindscape disappeared.

Outside the barrier, Anko and Itachi stood there preparing for the worst. As soon as the barrier dropped and revealed the two unconscious boys, Anko was next to the two boys faster than the hirashin no jutsu allowed the Yondaime to move. Anko was checking the health of both of the boys. Itachi calmly walked up, even though he was a nervous wreck internally.

"What is their status?"

"Chakra exhaustion. They'll both be out for at least a day, two at the most," sighing Anko looked up at Itachi and smiled. "Kami, he always knows how to makes us worry, eh Itachi?" she smiled and got a nod in return. Suddenly, a girl with blonde hair in four pigtails ran up to the two jounin.

"GAARA!!" she screamed as she ran over to the fallen boy. "What happened to him? Wake up Gaara! He shouldn't be sleeping or unconscious!" she yelled in a worried tone. Anko waved her hands to calm the young girl down.

"Don't worry they only passed out from chakra exhaustion," she explained.

"But if Gaara's asleep, then what's stopping Shukaku from possessing him?" To answer the young girl's question, Anko lifted the red-heads shirt and pointed to the seal. The young girl looked at the seal and gasped.

"It…it's complete…and the berserker seal is gone!" Tears came to her eyes as she looked at the snake kunoichi. "How…w…why?"

"Eh, I'm not really sure on the how, you'd need to ask him," said Anko pointing towards Naruto. "As for why, well my otouto doesn't like to see others in pain, especially people like him." Hearing Anko's explanation, the girl look at the blonde and mouthed a 'thank you' to his unconscious form. Anko smiled and picked up Naruto while the young girl picked up Gaara. "By the way, what's your name gaki?"

"Temari, I'm Gaara's older sister," she smiled back. "Why don't you guys stay at our place while those two recover? It's the least I can do for you guys." Anko nodded eagerly; it would be nice to stay in a Kage's house. On the way to Temari's house the trio met up with the rest of the Joes. Duke and Scarlet let out a sigh of relief after hearing the events that their new son had gotten involved in. When they reached Temari's house, introductions were made while everyone had a cup of tea. Their conversation was interrupted when a furious Kazekage and exasperated Dusty walked in.

"What have you done to my weapon?" the Kazekage questioned. Temari stood up with a smile and ran to her father.

"They fixed Gaara's seal! Now he can sleep without fear of being possessed! Isn't that wonderful?" Instead of answering her, the Kazekage backhanded her. "Father… why… why did you hit me?"

"Pathetic girl, the seal was made incomplete on purpose, just like the berserker seal was place don him at my orders," he smiled evilly before continuing. "I wanted the ultimate weapon, so I made it by sacrificing that worthless mother of yours."

With tears in her eyes, Temari ran out of the house. Seeing the girl in such distress caused Scarlet and Anko ran out after. After Anko placed a well deserved kick to the groin of the Kazekage of course. Dusty walked up to the Kazekage who was on his knees holding his crushed jewels and squatted down to his level.

"Here is my offer Mister Kazekage; I take both Gaara and Temari off of your hands. Before you protest, I suggest that you agree to our terms. We happen to have a rather significant amount of garbage on you that you wouldn't want leaked to the rest of the village," he finished with a smirk. The Kazekage could only nod; there was nothing he could do, the Joes held all the cards. Dusty walked out of the house followed by Falcon to find Anko, Scarlet, and Temari, leaving Duke and Itachi to protect the two containers.

Anko and Scarlet ran in the direction that Temari was running and found the teary-eyed girl by a palm tree crying her eye out. She stiffened when she felt a pair of arms around her before she realized that she was being hugged. The last time she could remember getting a hug was when her mother was still alive. She let out even more tears when she realized that she was being hugged by a complete stranger while her own father wouldn't hug her.

"W…why did he do such horrible thing to my baby brother?" she cried out into Scarlet's shoulder. Scarlet was doing her best to comfort the poor girl, but it had been a while since she had been in this situation.

"I don't know hun, but think of the good things that happened today; Gaara's seal is fixed and he probably made his first friend today." Unbeknownst to them, the little girl knew that Dusty was trying to adopt Gaara.

"But…you're going to adopt him and take him away from me! I had hoped that father would start to love Gaara once his seal was fixed so he wouldn't want to give him up." Temari started to cry even harder until a voice called out.

"That is not exactly true." The three females looked up to find Dusty smiling at Temari. "I made a slight…modification to the offer. You're now part of the deal…that is, if you want to be part of my family," he stated smiling.

Temari stared at the man in amazement. She couldn't help but voice her question, "But…why would you want me? I'm not strong like Gaara, I'm worthless and weak, just as my father said."

"I don't believe that for a second. Anyone that meets you can tell that you got a lot of spunk in you." As if to prove Dusty's point, Scarlet and Anko nodded in agreement. "So, how would you like to become part of my family and train to become a Joe with your brother?" as soon as he was finished his statement, he was tackled by Temari who was screaming "Yes!" and "Thank you!" over and over, the whole time sobbing into the man's shoulder. Scarlet and Anko smiled at the scene before them; it seemed that their group had just got a bit bigger and a lot happier.

(Back in Konoha)

"What you mean Duke was here and he adopted Naruto as his son?!" a silver hair jounin shouted. "Why didn't you even bother to tell me?!" Sarutobi looked the jounin in his only visible eye.

"And why would you care? You barely watched over him. As I recall, you were always on missions when I wanted to schedule you to be his guard," he stated sternly.

"Not out of choice! I was given the missions by the fucking council whenever you were going to assign me to guard duty!" he replied, returning the Hokage's glare. The aged Hokage paled as he realized the implications of what he was being told.

"So…you don't hate Naruto for what he holds and for the death of your sensei, Minato?" he questioned stroking his beard.

"Kami-sama, no!! Hokage–sama even though you never said anything, I know that Naruto is sensei's son! If it weren't for the whisker marks, one would think they were clones," he proclaimed. Standing up and looking the smiling old man in the eyes he continued. "The least you could have done was let me say goodbye to the kid." The two were then interrupted by a cigarette smoking jounin who busted through the doors.

"POPS! I heard that Falcon was here a few hours ago, is he still here?" Seeing his father shake his head, the jounin slammed his fist into the wall.

"Why did you want to meet Falcon Asuma?" Kakashi asked lazily looking at the smoking jounin.

"That bastard owes me two hundred dollars from our poker game a few years back," he sneered, making the Hokage chuckle.

"You are one of two people with the worst gambling luck that I know of, son." The elder Sarutobi chuckled at his son, who was currently blushing from embarrassment

"I wonder what they're doing now," the silver-haired jounin said, interrupting the father-son moment. As a matter of fact, the Sandaime had been wondering the same thing just before he had talked to Kakashi and Asuma had walked in.

(Back In Suna)

Dusty, who was walking to the Kazekage's residence, was carrying a sleeping Temari, who fell asleep shortly after agreeing to the adoption. Behind him, Anko and Scarlet were having their own conversation.

"So, how much father potential does Dusty have?" Anko whispered to the redheaded archer.

"Along with Duke, those two are pretty much perfect father and husband material. You saw how Duke acted around Naruto; strict, but understanding…just like always," she whispered back smiling. "With the life that Gaara and Temari have had they deserve Dusty; these two will finally feel the love that their real father never gave them." Anko smiled and nodded, silently agreeing with Scarlet's assessment.

Dusty, who had heard the two ladies whispering, turned his head to face them. "So girls, before we were interrupted at the house Duke was going to tell me how you guys got the adoptation past the Konoha council." The two women smirked.

"That is a very interesting story," Scarlet stated.

(Flashback)

_Duke and the othesr stood in front the "almighty" council; a majority of them were against the adoption. However, they couldn't stop it because the Hokage had final say in the matter and already approved the papers it. Danzo immediately stood up, thinking that he had a way to stop them from taking his weapon. _

_"If you take that boy out of this village, then you will be taking a citizen of Konoha. Should that occur, then we would have no choice but to arrest you for kidnapping a Konoha citizen!" As if on cue, ROOT Anbu surrounded the Joes who took gathered in a battle formation, ready to fight. All of a sudden, the Hokage spoke up."Danzo, you have overstepped your boundaries! As such, I hereby ban you from this council and your Root Anbu will be disassembled…again, and for the last time." The Sandaime waved his hand and the room was immediately filled with Anbu who started to arrest the Root members. When they went for Danzo, he disappeared from the room. "We'll worry about him later; for now, does anyone else have any objections?" No one was surprised when Hiashi stood up in protest. _

_"Yes, I forbid that little monster to leave the village until he apologizes to the entire Hyuuga clan for the pranks he pulled on us!" Hearing Hiashi's reasons, everyone face-faulted. _

_"Wait a second! You don't hate Naruto because you think that he's a demon?" Anko stated while she struggled to pull herself up from the ground. _

_"Oh Kami-sama no, Naruto is the hero of the village…but a prankster from hell!" he replied, holding up a picture. "This is his most recent prank on my clan," in the picture, Hiashi and the other Hyuuga were wearing rainbow colored robes. The only difference in Hiashi's apparel were the words, "Lord Hiashi of the fruity people." Hinata looked extremely happy with her lavender robe, but she must have been the only Hyuuga. The rest of the clan hated the difference between their normally beige robes and their now bright and varied robes. _

_When everyone got a good look at the photo, they were all laughing while Hiashi was fuming. "Yes, you find it funny, don't you? To me, this is an insult to my clan," before continuing, he looked around. "Don't tell anyone this, but I let Hinata keep this robe the same color because she really liked it. I just told her not to wear around the manor," which got a chuckle out of the council and the Joes. _

_"Well, I'll have my son write an apology letter since we are pressed for time. He'll make a formal and public apology when we return for the exams," Duke said between chuckles. He received a nod from the Hyuuga head. _

_(Flashback end)_

"So Hiashi hated Naruto because of the pranks and not the demon he holds?" Getting a nod in reply, Dusty shook his head. "Who would have figured that the 'all-powerful' Hyuuga Hiashi would let something as trivial as pranks get under his skin?" The others couldn't help but laugh as Dusty worded it. When they entered the house, they saw Duke and Itachi talking over some coffee. The two men turned to face the trio and smiled when they saw Dusty holding Temari.

"Hey, we were starting to worry about you guys," Duke stated smiling. Scarlet sat down nest to him while Anko sat next to Itachi. Anko had to fight to hide her blush, which was very difficult, considering how bright it was.

"So you guys were worried about us?" Scarlet questioned sweetly. "You know, we can take care of ourselves, right Anko?" Anko simply nodded with a challenge in her eyes.

"Yeah, well we **are** in a foreign land so I was just worried about how the natives would treat you girls," Duke replied which earned him a kiss from the red head.

(Next Day)

The next morning the group woke up to a heart-warming sight at the breakfast table; Gaara, Naruto, and Temari were eating and chatting. The most noticeable thing on the table…or rather on someone…was the slight blush on Temari's face. Anko leaned closer to Itachi.

"Seems like little Ino has some competition for Naruto's heart," she giggled, causing the Uchiha to blush.

"Indeed, but I believe that Ino knows how to win Naruto's heart," he smirked. They were brought out of their private conversation when Naruto interrupted them.

"About time you sleepy-heads woke up! When are we leaving for our new home?" Naruto questioned as he smiled at the group.

"Right after breakfast son." Hearing Duke call him son brought a tear to Naruto's eye. The rest of the group say his tear and with the exception of Itachi, Anko, Temari, and Gaara, they all had one thing on their mind: _'Was his life in Konoha really that bad?' _They turned to face Itachi and Anko who nodded and mouthed 'Tell you later.' It wouldn't do to depress Naruto when he should be happy.

While they were walking to the gate, they spotted some Suna Anbu following them. When they reached the gate, they met the Kazekage who had a large scowl on his face.

"You must be here to see us off, how sweet of you," Dusty said sarcastically.

"To see you off? In a way; I'm just here to make sure that you get my worthless excuse for a weapon and pathetic daughter out of my sight." His statement earned him a glare filled with killing intent from the two boys who were trying to comfort the sobbing girl.

Naruto walked up to the Kazekage. "Listen here you old buzzard. Temari is not pathetic. If anyone here is, it would be you. She is the nicest girl I know, not to say the one of the best sisters that anybody would love to have. You on the other hand, are just a stubborn old prune that can't see anything past your own nose!" To make his point, Naruto punched the Wind Shadow in his still cracked jewels. Everyone was wide eyed at the display while Temari stared at him as if he were Kami-sama himself.

"Well, let's get going," Duke called out. When everybody boarded the transport, he gave the kneeling Kazekage a one fingered salute before calling out, "JOES ROLL OUT!"

The group soon had to switch transportation methods from a ground-vehicle to a plane. When they landed at the Joe base, they were greeted by multiple people, like Sergeant Slaughter, General Hawk, and Flint with his girlfriend Lady Jaye.

"So Duke, Dusty, are these the brats that I'm going to train?" Sergeant Slaughter said walking up to Naruto and his friends. Receiving a nod in affirmative, he heard snickers from the adults and received glares from the children.

"Hey, you better watch it mister! I'm going to be the next Hokage!" The drill sergeant couldn't help but chuckle.

"Well, not without my training you won't. It's late and I'm sure that Duke and the others will want to show you around tomorrow. BUT…after tomorrow, you three are mine, all mine," he said with a sinister smile. The three children couldn't help but gulp. Gaara and Temari looked at Naruto. Their look said, "What did you get us into?" which he sheepishly smiled while he rubbed the back of his head. It was going to be a painful six years for the three young children..

(Outside Konoha)

Danzo was standing in the forest. His posture made it obvious that he was waiting for someone. He heard a rustle in the bushes to his left and turned to face a man in a blue suit with a red cobra on it. He had a cloth over his face, which was much larger than Kakashi's.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Danzzzo. It is a pleassssure to finally meet you," the man hissed.

"Cobra Commander, I assure you that the feeling is mutual. I hope you can and will help me take over the leaf village," he smiled handing over the security plans for the village.

"Yessss, but for now we cannot since the Joesssss are crawling all over thissss place," the commander stated while he took the plans and started looking over them."So how long until we can make our move?" the aged shinobi questioned.

"Sssssix yearssssss. We will have to plan this very well so no one can, not event he combined force of the Joes and Konoha shinobi can stop us," he evilly laughed along with Danzo. They both disappeared into the night to go back to their hideout.

XXXXXXXXXX

Well there's the second chapter. I might put up a short Christmas chapter, but only if I can find ideas for it. Anyways, I have a challenge for any of my readers. It's a crossover between Naruto and The Punisher. It takes place at the Valley of the End. Sasuke tells Naruto that Kakashi was holding him back on purpose and that Sakura knew about the Kyuubi from her mom and was told to be mean and hit the blonde every chance she got. After the Naruto's defeat, Frank Castle comes out of hiding and reveals to Kakashi that he is the first seat of the Seven Swordsman of the Mist. He also plans on training Naruto for three years. He takes him to a cabin where Kushina, Naruto's mother, is in a coma. Frank sends out a message to the other six swordsman, which include Zabuza, Kisame, Riagra, and three other O.C.'s of your choice. Haku must be a girl. When Tsunade hears of what happens, she runs out to find our young blonde hero. On her way out, she runs into the rest of the rookie nine who were not injured and tell them what has happened. They all give her letters to give to Naruto, in which they plead for him to return. This is a harem fic; I plan to write my own, but not for a while. If you want to write this, pm me or state it in your review.

Beta's Notes: Hey, I'm Naruto 21's beta, taintedlegacy. I decided to try my hand at writing after becoming Naruto 21's beta. It would mean a lot to me if you would check out my fic, Spirit of the Prodigy Realm. Thanks a lot!


	3. Chapter 3 Merry christmas

Christmas Chapter

Naruto walked through the snow covered forest tracking his targets slowly he made his way weapon in hand as he listened to the sounds around him

Crunch 

As the sound reached his ears he turned poised to strike until he saw his enemy "Gaara whew I almost took you out what with you sneaking up on me"

'Sorry I thought you were an enemy" he shrugged lowering his weapon which was a snowball "Geez I cant believe you are tense over a snowball war Naruto" who grinned

"I just like to win" he replied "Besides it is just you, me and Temari against the others and…" he was cut off when a snow ball hit him in the side of his head "what the who threw that" he yelled as he turned towards his assailant and found temari "Et tu temari-chan" who could only blush

"Sorry Naruto-kun" she replied grinnig sheepishly. It had only been three years since they had met in Suna and Gaara's seal was fix yet they bonded instantly where Gaara and Naruto were like brother and temari was their sister. Naruto even got them in to pranking which gaara loved and so did temari. Although she wouldn't admit it she had a crush on the blonde spiky haired boy though only till Gaara found out

Flashback 

_Gaara was walking towards the training grounds where Naruto was currently training, they had only been on a couple of missions to stop cobra but at the end of the first they decided that they did not like Cobra tyranny or how they treated people. He stopped when he noticed temari sitting nearby watching the young blonde _

_"So peeking on naruto are we" he said causing her to jump_

_"I wasn't peeking naruto nor do I have a crush on him" she replied waving her hands in front of her. She realized what she said and covered her mouth with a blush to make a certain hyuuga jealous _

_"I don't mind and If he returns your feeling I am happy for you, just remember he hurts you, I will kill him" which made her smile _

_"I don't think he would Gaara" she replied as she turned to watch the young blonde spar with Itachi and practice Ninjutsu with him_

_Flashback end_

Gaara smiled at the memory as he looked at the two conversing until something caught his eye

'Get Down!!!" he yelled as the three dove for the snow as a couple of snowballs flew overhead. Immediately after the snow was past them they umped up with their snowballs ready to throw

"Surrender and we might go easy on … you?" naruto stated until he, gaara and Temari saw what they were up against. In front of them was forty eight kids from the orphanage along with Duke, Scarlet, Dusty and his wife Kara. Immediately the three young ninja in training dropped their snowballs "hehehe ummm we give up" Naruto replied grinning.

Their answer was being pummeled with snowballs. When the snow settled there were three snowmen where the three kids stood. The head of the snowmen shook off the snow revealing the head of Naruto, Gaara and temari. The two Jinchuuriki could hear the laughter of their tenants in their head as they said "Told you so".

After they got freed from the snow Naruto and the others joined the rest of the children inside the orphanage for hot chocolate and cookie where they told the children stories of their adventure. Well mainly naruto told and exaggerated the story that he told make him look like a god which cause the joes to chuckle at his antics until Duke had broke the cheerful time.

"So Naruto did you get Ino anything for Christmas" to which the Kyuubi container nodded and reached into his pock and pulled out a small box. He opened it to reveal a heart shaped locket which held a picture of him and Ino on either side "Mom helped me pick it out she said Ino would love it.

Upon hearing this temari drooped her shoulders _'I knew I couldn't have Naruto he is in love with someone else'_ she thought until a voice called out to her

"Temari-chan are you ok" she looked up to find two pair of cerulean eyes she jumped at the closeness of her crush(I am a psychologist and girl do age faster mentally than guys)

"yea I just was thinking of my other brother in Suna Kankarou" she replied even if it was a lied she did miss her brother who was probably told that she abandoned suna or was killed cause shee was weak. Boy was her father wrong thanks to the joes and Naruto two shinobi sensei she became a powerhouse of wind jutsus and some other but not many as wind jutsu

"It is ok he probably misses you" she smiled "Hey I have to go mail this off if it is going to make it to Konoha intime for Christmas" he said holding up the envelope which was taken out of his hands by his father "Hey dad was is the big idea I have to mail that" to which the he smiled

"Don't worry I have a faster way of getting there than the postal system" which caused the boy to beam. With that Duke walked over to a joe operative that was dressed in a tan shirt and green pants with a green vest and a barrett on his head. "Hey dialtome think you and Ace can make a quick delivery to Konoha" to which the man smile

"Sure thing Duke we will be back in time for the cake" he chuckled he didn't mind making last minute deliveries on Christmas. With that he took the envelope and walkover to a man who was dressed in a flight suit "Hey ace we have a Christmas delivery mission for Naruto to his girlfriend" he said loud enough so that the said boy could hear

"SHE NOT MY GIRLFRIEND!!!" he yelled across the room blushing furiously to which the entire room laughed even itachi who over the years had dropped the masks of indifference but still hadn't told Anko about his crush on her but planned to tell her tonight under the mistletoe

Anko was so far enjoying the party and loved helping out the orphanage every year. It was the one mission she actually looked forward to each year that brought a smile to her face, it reminded her of when she use to watch over naruto during Christmas and taking him in for the night so he at least knew some people cared. _'the only thing that would make this better is Itachi kissing me under the mistletoe'_ she thought with a slight blush.

(Meanwhile in Konoha)

The soon to be Rookie nine minus one was having their own Christmas eve party. Everyone and their parents were there, the Ino-Shika-Chou trio were sitting around a table drinking sake and reminiscing while their kids were standing by the others talking

"I hope Naruto is having fun with his new parents" Ino said with sadness in her voice then she felt a hand on her shoulder and look to find Shikamaru and Chouji smiling at her

'We are sure he having fun and probably thinking about you" they smiled until a voice cut the moment

"So ino-buta giving up on sasuke for that baka naruto" they turned to find a head of pink that belong to Ino at one time best friend Sakura "Finally realize that you have no chance against someone as beautiful as me" she said with a smirk. Meanwhile sasuke was drinkkiing some punch when he heard sakura statement and promptly spit out his drink and look at her

_'If that is beauty then Kin-chan must be a goddess'_ he thought with a smirk. He had met Kin on a trip outside the village with his father who thought she was decent and would allow it if they dated later on in their lives. To say the two were embarrassed would be the understatement of the century.

"Listen Sakura even I know that Sasuke would never go out with you or me since he seems to be taken with someone else and as for Naruto I know that he is better than what he shows as a wise Hokage said you have to look underneath the underneath" to which she looked at the third who smiled and nodded at the young girl.

"Whatever I still say sasuke will drop that girl he is interested in for me soon" she smiled smugly until sasuke spoke up

"Sorry Sakura but even though you have a nice personality I just don't see you as a possible girlfriend or interest at all" this dropped her pride a few notches. That was until a knock came to the door.

Sarutobi opened up the door to reveal Dialtone and Ace standing there smiling "Ahh my friend how may I help you?" he ask with a smile

"Merry Christmas Hokage we have a couple of present for a Ino yamanka" they replied which like the red sea in the bible the party separated to show a wide eyed Ino walking slowly towards the two men

"Presents for me?" she asked getting a nod as the men held out a wrapped present and a envelope which she took

"That baka probably got you tickets for the ramen stand" Sakura stated with a smug voice thinking she knew everything

"Sakura can you not be troublesome for once" shikamaru drawled as he looked over Ino's shoulder. There was a gasp from the platinum blonde and the other girls when she held up the heart shaped locket. She then opened it up to show a picture of her on one side and Naruto on the other. Ino smiled as a tear slid down her face which caught the eye of shikamaru who smiled "told you he was thinking of you" to which she nodded

"So who is this from?" she questioned as she look at the wrapped square "it is from his mother scarlet" she said as she unwrapped it. Her face flushed as she looked at the gift. It was a picture of her and Naruto at the wedding of duke and Scarlet. Naruto was one of the groomsmen for Duke and she was one of Scarlet's Bridesmaids, the time the photo was taken was when Naruto had asked her to slow dance to which she accepted. While they were dancing Scarlet called out to get their attention which when they looked at her she snapped the picture.

Sasuke was looking at the photo and saw his brother who he knew was helping Naruto since he could not go to the academy from where he was _'hmm he seems like the romantic type maybe he can help me with romancing Kin'_ he though with a smile.

Ino held the picture close and let out a sigh _'Naruto when you return I swear I am going to tell you how I feel'_

(Back at the Joes base)

"Okay guys" duke yelled getting everyones attention "Well we started this last year and we will let the kids open one present each tonight" hearing this naruto quickly went over to the present he got her along with Ino's

_'she going to love this if mom knows anything' _ he thought as he looked at the box then he turned around to Temari and handed it to her "Here I bought this for you" which she took eagerly

"thank you Naruto-kun" she said blushing then she opened the box to find a round circular pendant with her photo on one side and naruto photo on the other "Naruto-kun it is wonderful thank you" she sqealed and hugged the blonde who blushed at the contact

"No problem anything for you temari-chan" he said returning the hug. Gaara smiled from where he was standing along with duke and the other as the women giggled at temari blushing. Anko smiled at the two _'Guess Ino does have competition'_ she thought with an inner smirk until itachi called her out of it

"Hey Anko can you come here I have to tell you something" he said from the doorway. Unbeknownst to here a genjutsu was put over it to hide the mistletoe above him. Anko shrugged and made her way over to him walking with a sway which caught his eyes which by the way had the sharigan activated _'glad I activated these at the right moment'_ he thought with a blush

"Yes Itachi-kun what did you need" she asked kindly with that he formed the rat seal and released the genjutsu and pointed up. Anko following his direction looked up "hey isn't that…" but couldn't finish her sentence since she found her mouth covered by his.

"anko for the longest time I have had a crush on you sure you may be sadistic and bloodthirsty but I know like me that was a mask since you dropped it around naruto" he said with a blush "It wasn't until we had this mission that the crush turned into love"

You…you mean it" she said wide eyed which he nodded in return. With that she hugged itachi and gave him a passionate kiss full on the lips. Release each other for air they surprisingly said at the same time

"This is the best Christmas ever" which was followed by an loud AWWWW from the rest of the group which caused them to blush until they saw naruto pointing and laughing at their embarrassment. Forgetting about the situation they were in the nodded and walked towards the blonde boy

"hey nee-chan, Nii-san what are you thinking" he gulped seeing the revenge look in their eye "hey you guys are scaring me" he turned to run but couldn't since he was caught. The two jounin dragged the young boy under the mistletoe and placed temari in front of him

"Now it is your turn otouto" anko said with a smirk which got a blush for the young container and chuckle from the group even gaara who like when justice was administered. Both temari and naruto looked at each other with a blush, slowly and steadily they inched towards eachother until anko and itachi got sick of it and pushed the two together making them kiss on the lips. The two genin in training jumped back and blushed a red never seen before which got a laugh from everyone in the room. Clearly for Anko and temari this was the best Christmas ever 

XXXXXX

Merry Christmas everyone this is un beta since my beta is out on vacation but I hope he has a merry Christmas. I am working on my other stories and will undated promptly especially fox hunter after I see the newest AVP movie hehe WELL MARRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!


	4. Chapter 4 His Return

Chapter 4 His return

It was a night of celebration for most of the village since it had been 6 years since the so-called demon child had left konoha. The sound of fireworks and the sight of balloons filled the skies. But in the hokage tower a group was waiting for the anticipated arrival of their blonde knuckleheaded friend. Sarutobi along with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, their children, Jariaya, Asuma, and Kakashi were waiting for the blonde

"Do you think Naruto-kun will show up" Ino said breaking the silence all the while fiddling with the locket that naruto gave her

"Yea he is going to show it would be too troublesome for him not to show" Shikamaru replied gaining a grin from the other and a nod from the blonde.

"Yes Naruto likes to make an entrance but considering the day I think he might not make a big entrance instead he might make a silent entrance but I have two chunnin guarding the gate that are also looking forward to his return" the aged hokage stated with a smile it was then that the aged man notice something.

Floating in the sky over the village was several large blimps; it was then the Hokage turned to the people in the room

"Raise the alarm we are about to be attacked by Cobra," he yelled immediately since Duke warned him that they might attack before they returned. Without being told twice everyone left in plumes of smoke leaving shikamaru, chouji and Ino with the Hokage, "You three go with my assistant to the bunkers" as he pushed them out the door where his assistant was waiting for them. Unbeknownst to him he failed to notices the cobra symbol on his neck.

Up in the lead blimp

"Finally I will have my revenge for this pathetic village trying to usurp my hold I will be able to remake into my image" Danzo said looking at the chaos below

"Yesss you ssssshall issssn't that right Serpentor" cobra commander replied turning to a man of 6 feet wearing the headdress of a cobra

"Yes they shall THIS I COMMAND COBRA!!!"with a wave of his hand a swarm of cobra troops jumped

"I am glad we put those Uchiha out of business with your snakes Cobra commander" Danzo smiled evilly

"Yesss the poissson in my vipersss should either incapcitate or killed that meddlesssssome clan" he replied laughing evilly

(Konoha Hospital)

Sasuke sat in between the beds that held his mother and father tear spilling out as he prayed "Kami please don't let my parents die please" he cried until his attention was caught when he felt the building shake and the sound of an explosion outside. Immediately he rushed to the window and looked out to see a war raging as a wave of cobra troops stormed the hospital and took it over holding everyone hostage.

(With the three children)

Ino was walking behind the secretary when she noticed something strange

"Sir what is that on your neck it looks like that cobra symbol" she faded at the ended as her eyes widened at the realization which cause the man to smirk

"Yes I am with Cobra and you three are now our prisoners" he stated laughing as his tore away the mask to reveal a face with two black mark coming out of the side and cover his eyes leaving a streak of skin between his eyes "The name Zartan brat, now get going" he ordered pointing to the exit while pointing a pistol at them "you're going to join your little friends" he laughing evilly as he shoved them forward taking them to a secret location which was suppose to be a safe house in the village. Once there the trio noticed that Cobra had all the women and children taken prisoner and was well guarded.

"Ino!!!" a voiced called out. She turned to see Sakura running towards her "Ino what is happening who are these people" she cried

"They are an organization called Cobra a ruthless terrorist organization bent on ruling the world" she replied glaring at the smirking guards. Unbeknownst to them two of the guards were spies and were secretly sending the message to the Joes.

(Battlefield)

Sarutobi and the rest of the Konoha nins were backed in to a corners by cobra. All over the village people where fighting what seemed a hopeless battle. As they prepared for their final stand hoping to die for the village the cobra troops separated as Cobra commander and Serpentor with Danzo next to him smirking.

"Well well well Sarutobi see if you had let me have the kyuubi brat this would have not happened" Danzo spoke with a smirk "If the council only made me Hokage we would not be in this mess" which the old man glared

"I would not have naruto turn into an emotionaless drone like your men Danzo nor is he a demon" He spat back venomously to which the one eyed man shook his head

"Well it is no use once I change this village to my liking I am going to take over the rest of the elemental nation with the help of Cobra here" motioning to the two men near him laughing evilly "And don't think of trying anything I have the children and the rest of the villagers hostage as well as the ones in the hospital" he proved this by showing a video transmission of the hospital and the villager under cobra guard

"Lord hokage what are we going to do" Inochi asked

"I don't know Inochi I guess Danzo won" the aged man said dropping his head in defeat.

(Few mile outside Konoha)

Naruto was walking with his family along with Gaara and temari toward the village.

"I cannot wait to see the old man and Ino-chan again" he said joyfully as Itachi and Anko smiled at his antics. It had been a three years since that fateful day when Itachi proclaimed his love for her. She was cut out of her reminiscing by a loud beeping. She turned to naruto whose eyes were reading a message from their spies in cobra but when she saw they furrow she knew something bad happened

"What wrong Naruto" she asked

"Cobra moved faster than we thought he has already taken over the village and what worse is that he has incapacitated the Uchiha Clan with vipers" as soon as he said this they felt a huge rise in killing intent they look over to see the wildly spinning sharigan eyes of Itachi but before he could take off Duke grabbed him

"Itachi I know you want to go and take on cobra but we need a plan first" he said which calmed down the Young Anbu captain. Then a young soldier that was accompanying them spoked up

"Sir why should we fight for this village from what I have heard they are a primitive and violent village" to which Duke sighed

"Were we so different? They are a young village, they have much to learn but I've seen goodness in them. Freedom is the right of every village" he replied staring straight at the group "Naruto contact the base and tell the general that we have a code red and what the situation is" to which the young blonde nodded and proceeded to alert the rest of the joes.

"Since I know the layout of the village we can make a good invasion and free the village" Itachi stated to which Duke nodded

"But first we need to know what type of snake cobra sent to incapacited your family Itachi" which sent him shaking

"If he has hurt my mother or baby brother I am going to kill Cobra commander in a slow and painful way" he spoke clenching his fist his eyes telling the rage meant he was serious on the threat.

"Not before I get a few licks in still have to pay for that cheap shot two months ago" naruto cut in grinning like a fox which was returned by Itachi who nodded. Naruto went back to his communicator and telling the base what was happening

(GI Joe base)

General hawk was sitting behind his desk doing his paper work when a private rushed into the room

"General Hawk We just received word from Naruto that Cobra just attack and capture the leaf village" which made the general leap to his feet

"Sound the alarm and have every available joe at the hanger in five minutes" he order to which the soldier saluted and left a few seconds later an alarm went off throughout the base

(hanger five minutes later)

All the joes where in the hanger wondering what the alarm was form until hawk came in with his battle gear on

"Joes I just recieved word from naruto" which got a gasp from the group "Cobra seems to have moved quicker than we thought and have taken his home hostage. Now before any you worry they are safe and outside but they need back up to free the village" he stated seriously "Now I am not going to lie to you I intend to put you in harms way for a village that we barely know about, if anyone want to back out now we wont think any less of you" with that and saw no one back out instead they stepped forward showing their determination "Alright let go help our boys"

"YOOO JOE" was shouted and they scrambled to the jets and vehicles

(Back with Naruto)

"Naruto received a message and turned to the group "They are mobilizing but it will take a few hours to get here which the Uchiha clan don't have" which receieved a nod "I have a plan but you have to trust me dad"

Duke nodded "What is the plan"

"Me, Itachi Doc, Life line and Tsunade-baa chan sneak in and heal the Ucchiha clan and free the Prisoners since the hospital and the safehouse are very close" which earned him a swiped from the irate busty women

"Don't call me that" she yelled (I'll explain why she is here later after the fight)

"Anyways I was saying that while lifeline, Doc and Baa chan heal the clan Itachi, Me and Snake eyes clear out the hospital and the safehouse then I shoot a flare in the air signaling you, gaara and the rest of the joes and by that time knowing that the general is going to use the fastest way to get here and help he should be able to back you up and with the hostages free then we can fight without worrying about the hostages." Which caused most of the group to look at him in surprise except those who truly knew him

"What let get this plan going we don't have much time" with that naruto went off to change and came back dress in forest camo with a ski mask covering half his face.

Naruto, and the group ran along the wall of the village being sure to stay out of the vision of the sentries. When they got to the area where they could see the hospital Naruto turned to the group "Dad I want you mom, gaara and temari to wait at the LZ for general hawk and the rest of the joes then fill them in on the plan while my group free Itachi's clan and the hostages" which Duke nodded

"Just be careful son" to which naruto nodded. No matter how long him or gaara were with the joes when ever Duke or Dusty called them their son and showed them love it brought a tear to their eyes and warmth to their heart. With that Naruto, Itachi, Doc, Lifeline, and Tsunade scaled the wall and snuck through the streets of Konoha being sure to either take out the guards or to avoid them completely. As soon as they got near the hospital they hide in the shadows and peer toward the entrance to see two guards standing there

"I could get them with my kunai but that may catch attention of the others around" Itachi stated to which the rest of the group nodded Naruto tapped his shoulder then pointed to a scaffolding on the side hospital to which Itachi smiled and nodded "Guess those strategy lesson that anko taught you about sneaking into places work out well"

"Yea but did she have to threaten me with her snakes isn't that just overkill" to which itachi smiled with that the group ran to the scaffolding all the while staying in the shadows. Slowly and silently they made their way up to the roof of the hospital where they entered.

"I suggest we break up in to three groups of two and each take a level" Itachi stated which naruto thought about

"Ok but stay in contact and tell me when you are done with your floor" to which the group nodded. With that they split up naruto and Tsunade taking the top and so on.

(With Naruto and Tsunade)

Peering through the ajar door naruto looking down the hall "Hmmm that is strange they only have only two on this floor what about you guys" he asked into the mic

"_same here"_ came the response for itachi while a tap was a response stating the same thing for Snake eyes

"Probably since your family is incapacitated they thought that they did not need that many guards" which got a growl "Okay take out the guards silently and quickly" he received a grunt and a tap "Move out"

Quickly and silently Naruto snuck up on the first guard facing away from him and quickly slit his throat even though he hated killing him or any one for that matter but knew it was a necessary evil. Quietly he hide the the body and snuck down the hallway taking out the next guy with the same style

"Alright it is safe Baa chan time for you to do your work" which earn his a glare from the busty blonde

"Be glad you are my godson or I would pound you to the first floor" which just earn her the foxy grin, which made her sigh, no matter what he did she could not stay mad at the blonde gaki who some how wormed his way into her heart. Without any more to say she went to work and found out what the poison is

"Naruto the poison is a simply viper poison which common in the rattlesnake of American continent"to which he nodded and proceeded to relay the information

(With Itachi and lifeline)

Itachi nodded as he got the message from Naruto "Lifeline the antivenom we are looking is for a rattlesnake" the medic nodded and proceeded to administer the antivenom to the Uchiha. While that was happening a voice was heard down the hall

"Keep away from my mother you bastard don't you touch her" Itachi head snap to the location of the voice as one name escaped his lips "sasuke" with a swirling of leave he left lifeline who shrugged and went back to work.

Sasuke was pushing vainly trying to keep the cobra soldier that took guarding his room from raping his mother "I said keep away for her you asshole" to which the soldier just back handed him

"Now sasuke what have I told you about swearing" a voice called out he turned to see itachi with his arm around the soldiers neck in a choke hold "And even though mom is unconsciousness I sure she hear that meaning you are getting a lecture when she wakes up" with that he gave a swift jerk to the soldier resulting a loud crack and the soldier went limp collapsing in front of him

"Nii-san" sasuke choked out gaining a nod, which sent the young uchiha bowling into him with a hug squeezing him "I tried to fight but mom took the bite for me I …" he choked out before breaking down. Immediately Itachi went over to him and pulled him in to a hug.

"Shush shush it will be ok otouto I know you want to protect mom and dad but for now let give them the antidote" he said softly while holding up two vials with an amber liquid in them. With that he stood up and approach his parents and attached the vials to the IV drips. He then turned to sasuke "You stay here and don't let any one in without the password which is yo joe" he stated smiling

"Where are you going" sasuke ask

"To teach a certain cobra about messing with my loved ones" he stated with a smile with that he walk out the door and turned to doc "Finish here then head to the others and help who you can" to which he nodded

(With naruto)

Naruto crept throw the tunnels to where the hostages where taking note of the unconscious or dead guard littering the grounds 'hmm maybe having kimmaro and kin go undercover wasn't a bright idea' he thought "Especially after Flint adopted them then get got attacked and put in the hospital by Zartan two months later" he thought of the warrant officer that he so lovely called an uncle. As he neared the evacuation/hostage area he heard two voices arguing. One was feminine and had a bossy tone that brought a smile to his lip and one name passed through his head

'Ino'

The next voice was rough and male which made him scowl, this man had an infamous streak of pissing off the joes since he was a master of disguise. He was also responsible for putting his uncle in the hospital and almost causing two of his friends to lose their father.

"You are gonna be sorry when Naruto shows up he kick your ass from her to suna and back again" Ino shouted at the man even going as far as spitting in his face which earned her a slap

"Quiet you bitch when this village is taken fully I going to enjoy breaking you in" zartan replied with a perverted sneer until a voice broke him out of his thoughts

"well I guess I gonna to have to be the knight in shining armor then wont I" the two turned quickly to where the voice came from. Ino's eyes widen as one name excaped her lips

"N…Naruto-kun"


	5. Chapter 5

As Ino looked at the photo of her and Naruto at his mother's wedding she felt the back was bulging out more than a picture should. Quickly she turned it over and carefully undid the back to find a folded up piece of paper. As she unfolded it she saw that it was a letter from Naruto to her. Everyone in the room noticed her eyes and the actions that she took.

Shikamaru came up behind her and saw the letter "Go ahead Ino read it for us" he said with a smile that made her return it

_Dear Ino,_

_Well first off I want to Wish you and your family a Merry Christmas and the same goes for Shikamaru and Chouji and their families. You have probably noticed this while at the party which just proves that I was right to say you were a bright and intelliengent girl (Ino blushes) the second piece of paper was a poem that I read once and it describes my feeling of being away from you guys and the old man for these past four years. If I could ask one favor and that is to have Old man hokage read it for everyone._

_Sincerely _

_Naruto namikaze Hauser_

Tear filled Ino's eyes as she read the letter 'that baka does miss me' she though as she turned to the Sandaime and handed him the second piece of paper which he gently took and move to the front of the room. He turned and faced the party as he clear his throat. He started to read and as if by some form of Kami a violin playing silent night started to play from the stereo

_Twas the night before Christmas_

_He lived all alone _

_In a one bedroom house made of _

_Plaster and stone_

_I had come down the Chimney _

_With present to give _

_And to see just who_

_In this dwelling did live_

_I looked all around _

_A strange sight to see _

_No tinsel, no presents _

_Not even a tree _

_No stocking on the mantle _

_Just boots filled with sand _

_On the wall hung pictures _

_Of far distant Lands _

_Medals and Badges _

_Awards of every kind _

_A Sobering thought_

_Came alive in my mind _

_This house was different_

_It was dark it was dreary _

_I had found the house of a soldier _

_I could see that most clearly _

_The soldier lay sleeping _

_Silent and alone _

_Curled up on the floor _

_In this one bedroom home _

_His face was so gentle _

_The room in such disorder_

_Not at all how I pictured _

_A United States Soldier_

_Was this the hero_

_Of whom I'd Just read_

_Curled up on a poncho _

_The floor for a bed _

_Then I realized the other families _

_That I saw this night _

_Owed there lives to soldiers _

_Who were willing to fight _

_In the morning round the world _

_Children would play _

_Grownups would celebrate _

_A bright Christmas day _

_They all enjoyed Freedom _

_Each month of the year _

_Because of soldier _

_Like the one lying here _

_I couldn't help but wonder _

_How many lay alone _

_On a Cold Christmas Eve _

_In lands far from home _

_The very thought _

_Brought a tear to my eye _

_I dropped to my knees _

_And started to cry _

_The soldier awakened _

_And I heard his rough voice _

"_Santa don't cry _

_this life in my choice _

_I fight for freedom _

_I don't ask for more _

_My life in my God, _

_My country, my Corps"_

_The soldier rolled over _

_And drifted to sleep _

_But I couldn't control it _

_And I continued to weep _

_I kept watch for hours _

_SO silent and still _

_As both of us shivered _

_From the cold night chill _

_I didn't want to leave him _

_On that cold, dark, night_

_This guardian of honor _

_So willing to fight_

_Then the soldier rolled over _

_With a voice soft and pure _

_He whispered "cary on Santa,_

_Its Christmas day, all is secure"_

_One look at my watch _

_And I knew he was right _

"_Merry Christmas my friend, _

_May God bless you this night."_

As he finished the poem Sarutobi heard sniffling coming from the grou and with teary eyes he looked and saw Ino about to cry. Slowly he walked over to her and embraced her in a grandfatherly hug " I know my dear I miss the blonde ball of energy too" he whispered which cause her to break down and cry while saying how she miss her naruto kun. Then an explosion went off outside which cause the house to empty with all people ready for battle. What they had gotten was a sight to behold

The hokage monument had been pranked with the plane ace was flying leaving the scene of the crime. The four hokages were made Christmas themed with the fourth looking like santa and the first looking like an elf and the second and third looked like reindeer with the third having a red nose.

Seeing this a smile graced everyones face which was followed by a snickering then full blown laughter

"It seem that even on the other side of the world Naruto is able to prank the village" Sarutobi stated between laugh which was agreed b the group

(In the jet)

"Ace to naruto, ace to naruto the package has been delivered and prank set off" the gi joe pilot stated holding in his laughter "and they are loving it" which he heard a thank you comes over from the said blonde. Ace then turn on his speaker to the outside of the jet when he slowly flew over Konoha and stated

"MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL AND TO ALL A GOOD NIGHT" with that he kicked on his afterburners and roared off home

Authors note: I work at the VA in my city and I was told Friday a disturbing thing by some of the veterans that are on my floor which was that their families wont be visiting them on Christmas which made me sad. So this Christmas if you see a soldier walking in your mall or a veteran you know that lives on your street I would like for you to walk up to them and wish them a Merry Christmas and thank them for their service. The reason I haven't updates in a while is because this past week my brother was found dead in his apartment and I just had the funeral so I have to get my life back together and finish my semester but I do promise you faithful readers that I will update over the Christmas Holiday. On Christmas Day after I have opened my present I plan to make a trip to my VA and go and wish the vets on my floor a Merry Christmas.


End file.
